Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2012 Oct;83(5):499-503.
doi: 10.3109/17453674.2012.727078. Epub 2012 Sep 14.

Tourniquet use in total knee replacement does not improve fixation, but appears to reduce final range of motion

Håkan Ledin  1 , Per Aspenberg, Lars Good
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Tourniquet use in total knee replacement does not improve fixation, but appears to reduce final range of motion

Håkan Ledin et al. Acta Orthop. 2012 Oct.

Abstract

Background and purpose: Although a tourniquet may reduce bleeding during total knee replacement (TKA), and thereby possibly improve fixation, it might also cause complications. Migration as measured by radiostereometric analysis (RSA) can predict future loosening. We investigated whether the use of a tourniquet influences prosthesis fixation measured with RSA. This has not been investigated previously to our knowledge.

Methods: 50 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee were randomized to cemented TKA with or without tourniquet. RSA was performed postoperatively and at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. Pain during hospital stay was registered with a visual analog scale (VAS) and morphine consumption was measured. Overt bleeding and blood transfusions were registered, and total bleeding was estimated by the hemoglobin dilution method. Range of motion was measured up to 2 years.

Results: RSA maximal total point motion (MTPM) differed by 0.01 mm (95% CI -0.13 to 0.15). Patients in the tourniquet group had less overt bleeding (317 mL vs. 615 mL), but the total bleeding estimated by hemoglobin dilution at day 4 was only slightly less (1,184 mL vs. 1,236 mL) with a mean difference of -54 mL (95% CI -256 to 152). Pain VAS measurements were lower in the non-tourniquet group (p = 0.01). There was no significant difference in morphine consumption. Range of motion was 11° more in the non-tourniquet group (p = 0.001 at 2 years).

Interpretation: Tourniquet use did not improve fixation but it may cause more postoperative pain and less range of motion.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow diagram of participants.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The MTPM values (mm) at 2 years show a skewed distribution with outliers.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
MTPM (mm) at 1 year, 2 years, and 1–2 years (log scale). Note that migration for 1–2 years is not the same as migration for 2 years minus migration for 1 year, as MTPM has no defined direction.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Pain during the first 4 days, expressed as the mean of all consecutive measurements.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Peroperative bleeding.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Blood loss (mL) according to the hemoglobin dilution method.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Range of motion.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abdel-Salam A, Eyres KS. Effects of tourniquet during total knee arthroplasty. A prospective randomised study. J Bone Joint surg (Br) 1995;77(2):250–3. - PubMed
    1. Alcelik I, Pollock RD, Sukeik M, Bettany-Saltikov J, Armstrong PM, Fismer PA. Comparison of outcomes with and without a tourniquet in total knee arthroplasty, a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Arthroplasty. 2011;27(3):331–40. - PubMed
    1. Aspenberg P, Wagner P, Nilsson KG, Ranstam J. Fixed or loose? Dichotomy in rsa data for cemented cups. Acta Orthop. 2008;79(4):467–73. - PubMed
    1. Clarke MT, Longstaff L, Edwards D, Rushton N. Tourniquet-induced wound hypoxia after total knee replacement. J Bone Joint Surg (Br) 2001;83(1):40–4. - PubMed
    1. Derbyshire B, Prescott RJ, Porter M L. Notes on the use and interpretation of radiostereometric analysis. Acta Orthop. 2009;80(1):124–30. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types